


Welcome, Spectre Four

by rebel_wren



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Post-Star Wars: A New Dawn, Pre-Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion, barfights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-28 02:01:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17173709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_wren/pseuds/rebel_wren
Summary: Here's my take on how Kanan and Hera met Zeb! Obviously takes place after A New Dawn but before Spark of Rebellion.





	Welcome, Spectre Four

Hera drummed her fingers on the counter of the bar, waiting for Kanan to bring her their drinks. She leaned forward, looking down the bar. It was pretty late, so almost everyone was half-drunk already. A Weequay man winked at her, and she rolled her eyes before leaning back.

These bars weren’t Hera’s favorite places in the galaxy, they were loud, smelly, and people always asked her how much she cost. But they were good for meeting contacts, and one of the few places left where she and Kanan knew they wouldn’t find any lovers of the Empire.

She scanned the crowd quickly for Kanan, and saw him carrying two drinks. He shot her a grin when she met his gaze, before immediately running into a large Lasat and spilling them. Hera shook her head, sighing and facepalming, though the facepalm was more to muffle her quiet laughter than anything else.

_ THUD! _

She looked up to see the now very angry Lasat had whipped around and struck Kanan in the face, knocking him down and sending the empty glasses flying. Immediately, the bar patrons backed up, forming a circle around Kanan and the Lasat.

“Karabast, mate,” the (clearly a little drunk) Lasat roared. “You got a problem?”

Hera stood up, pushing through the crowd forming around them. She got to the edge just to see Kanan raise a protective hand and hear his voice.

“-sorry, it was just an accident, I-”

The Lasat bore down over him, fist raised, and Hera swallowed hard. His face inched closer to Kanan, and he snarled just loud enough for the inner part of the circle to hear.

“Don’t let it happen again, kid.”

In a split second, the Lasat picked Kanan up, and threw him against a wall, near where Hera had been earlier. She gasped, and rushed to his side. As she made her way through the group of people who’d gathered in hopes of a bigger fight, she could hear the Lasat’s low, angry voice again.

“What are you lot looking at?” The crowd fearfully started to disperse, making it easier for Hera to get to Kanan. He was against the wall, slowly pushing himself up. He was scowling, and started to walk back towards the Lasat when Hera caught him, pushing his shoulders to get him back against the wall.

“You are not thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

“Hera-”

“He threw you!”

Kanan shook his head and scoffed. “I can still take him.”

“Kanan.”

He stared at her for a moment, before shaking his head. “Fine. And, uh, sorry about the drinks.”

“Don’t worry about it, love.”

Hera smiled at him, and then moved her hand to the side of his face, where the Lasat had first hit him. Kanan pulled away, flinching when her fingers brushed over it. She immediately retracted her hand, and then put it on his arm.

“We’ll have to put ice on that when we get home.”

Kanan nodded, and Hera looked back to the Lasat, who had started drinking. He’d lost the rage he had when Kanan had first spilled drinks on him, and now he looked almost sad, hunched over the bar in a seat that seemed a little too small. Hera watched him take a drink and then stare down into the cup. He didn’t seem the same as the people who usually tried to start fights in the bars she and Kanan stopped at, he just looked tired.

“What an ass,” Kanan said, and she turned back to him. He must have noticed her staring.

Hera nodded. “Yeah, although…”

Kanan raised an eyebrow, watching her face. “What are you planning?”

“It’s just that some of the missions we’ve been running lately, they’ve been close calls. Might help to have an extra set of hands.”

Kanan’s eyes widened slightly as he took in her words. “You are not thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

“Kanan-”

“Did you just miss the part where he threw me?”

“I know,” Hera said. “He’s strong! We could use some muscle.”

“We have muscle,” Kanan said, and Hera could feel him try to subtly flex under the hand she had on his arm. She rubbed his arm gently.

“Of course, but we could never have too much. Just let me go talk to him, see if he’s interested.”

“You really want to pick up some drunken barfighter?”

Hera raised an eyebrow at him, and he sighed, looking down. “Right. You win. But I’ll be right here if something happens.”

She smiled and pulled her hand down his arm, taking his hand and squeezing it quickly before pulling away.

Hera saw the Lasat, sitting at the bar with seats on either side of him now empty. She took one, and he looked at her. “If you’re here to talk about that guy I hit, then forget about it.”

She shook her head. “I’m not, I swear.”

Hera cleared her throat, and then looked up at the Lasat. He was practically twice her size, and as much as Kanan talked himself up she wasn’t sure how much he could really do if something went wrong.

“My name is Hera,” she started. “My partner and I were wondering if you were looking for a job.”

He snorted. “A job? Really?”

She nodded. “You can go with us on our next run, and if you like it, you can stay with us. If you don’t, then we’ll pay you and go our separate ways.”

Zeb frowned at her. “What do you do?”

“We steal from the Empire.”

The Lasat’s ears flicked, and he shifted in his seat. Hera’s heart ached a little. She’d heard whispers of what the Empire had done on Lasan, but it was all rumors. Credible information about it was hard to come by, but based on the Lasat’s face in front of her she could only assume what she’d heard was the truth. He extended a large hand, the one he’d hit Kanan with. Hera took his hand and shook it, though the size difference made it more than a little awkward. He gave her a nod.

“The name’s Zeb. Nice to meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! This is how I've always pictured their meeting, and I've been meaning to write it for a while now.


End file.
